Multiple-story building



H. R. KLEIN MULTIPLE-STORY BUILDING June 10, 1958 Filed July 15, 1955 m mmk e 7 N m H N E m H his Allo /gay.

' 2,837,776 MULTIPLE-STORY BUILDING Henry R. Klein, Berwyn, lll., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey:

' Application July 15, 1955, Serial bio. 522,2dl." i i 8 Claims. ciao-1.1a

This invention relates to an improved vertical wall construction for multiple-story buildings.

My wall construction is especially suited for large parking garages, although obviously the invention is:

not thus limited. In the interest of economy such garages often have partially open outside walls. Nevertheless for safety reasons it usually has been considered necessary to equip each floor with rigid walls of masonry or V the like to a height approximately equal to that of an automobile hood. Preferably garage walls are capable of receiving impacts from moving automobiles without damaging either the wall or the automobile, not true of the usual rigid walls.

An object of my invention is to provide a vertical wall construction which altogether avoids rigid members and is capable of receiving impacts without damage.

A more specific object is to provide a vertical wall construction which consists of a plurality of. spaced tensioned stranded wire structures (strands, ropes or cables) anchored at their ends to the ceiling of an upper story and the floor of a lower story and passing freely through intermediate floors.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I have provided improved details of structure, a preferred form of which is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a parking garage which has a vertical side wall construction in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section on a larger scale showing my improved wall construction; and

Figure 3 is a vertical section on a still larger scale of the bottom anchoring means and spring and of the top anchoring means and turnbuckle embodied in my wall construction.

Figure 1 shows a parking garage which includes a lower story 10, a plurality of intermediates stories 12, an

upper story 13 and a roof 14, all of reinforced concrete.

In the garage illustrated the lower story 10 actually is one fioor above street level to leave an access floor 15. The floors and roof per se can be of any standard construction supported internally of the building, for example on vertical columns 16 shown in Figure 2. The garage can be equipped with any suitable system of ramps or elevators, not shown, for transferring automobiles between stories. Inasmuch as the invention is not concerned with these portions of the building, no more detailed disclosure is deemed necessary.

In accordance with my invention, the outer walls of at least a portion of the building are formed of a plurality of spaced tensioned stranded wire structures 17. As Figure 2 shows, the upper end of each stranded wire structure is joined to a turnbuckle 18 which in turn is joined to an anchor 19 embedded in the concrete ceiling of the upper story 13. The lower end of each stranded wire structure 17 is connected to a compression spring 20 which in turn is connected to an anchor 21 embedded in the concrete floor of the lower story 10. As shown in .From the foregoing description, it is seen that my.

invention aifords a simple and economical wall structure especially suited for parking garages, although obviously capable of other application. In one actual installation in a parking garage, the walls are formed of strands each consisting of seven stainless steel wires. The strands are spaced eight inches apart. These walls can absorb the impact of an automobile traveling 40 M. P. H. without damage either to the wall or the automobile. Nevertheless if a few strands become damaged from any cause, replacement is a simple operation.

While I have shown and described only a single embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a structure for parking automobiles, which structure includes at least one floor, an overhead member, and means supporting said member in spaced relation above said floor, a vertical wall construction comprising a plurality of vertically extending spaced tensioned stranded wire structures anchored at their upper ends with respect to said member and at their lower ends with respect to said floor.

2. In a multiple story building, which includes a plu rality of internally supported -vertically spaced floors, a vertical wall construction comprising a plurality of vertically extending spaced tensioned stranded wire structures anchored at their upper ends with respect to the ceiling of an upper story and at their lower ends with respect to the fioor of a lower story, the floors of intermediate stories having passages through which said structures extend freely.

3. In a structure for parking automobiles, which structure includes at least one floor, an overhead member, and means supporting said member in spaced relation above said floor, a vertical wall construction comprising a plurality of vertically spaced stranded wire structures, anchoring means for each of said stranded wire structures fixed respectively to said member and to said floor, take up means joined to each of said stranded wire structures and one of its anchoring means, and resilient means connected to each of said stranded wire structures and its other anchoring means. i

4. In a multiple story building, which includes a plurality of internally supported vertically spaced floors, a vertical wall construction comprising a plurality of vertically extending spaced stranded wire structures, a pair of anchoring means for each of said structures fixed respectively to the ceiling of an upper story and to the floor of'a lower story, take-up means joined to each of said structures and one of its anchoring means, and resilient means connected to each of said structures and its. other anchoring means, the floors of intermediate stories having passages through which said structures extend freely.

5. A building as defined in claim '4 in which said take up means includes a turnbuckle between the stranded wire structure and its upper anchoring means.

. Patented June 10,1958

After the strand- 6. A building as defined in claim 4 in which said resilient means includes a compression spring, a lower follower under said spring connected to the lower end of the stranded wire structure, and an upper follower above said spring connected to thelower anchoring means.

'71 In a multiple story building, which includes a plurality of internally supported vertically spaced reinforced concrete floors, an outside vertical wall construction comprising a plurality of vertically extending spaced 8. A building as defined in claim 7 in which said takeup means includes a turnbuckle between the stranded wire structure and its upper anchor, and said resilient means includes a compression spring, a lower follower under said spring connected to the lower end of the stranded wire structure, and an upper follower above said spring connected to the lower anchor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 696,413 Dalrymple Apr. 1, 1902 1,792,966 Cato Feb. 17, 1931 2,128,030 Koleno Aug. 23, 1938 2,139,642 Os'olin -fi Dec. 6, 1938 OTHER REFERENCES Architectural Forum, September 1949, pages 90 and 91. 

